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Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer

Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer
DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE NEWSROOM. DANNY AND SEAN, THIS IS BEING CHARACTERIZED AS AN AGGRESSIVE FORM OF PROSTATE CANCER, WHICH HAS SPREAD TO THE BONE. ACCORDING TO THE FORMER PRESIDENT’S OFFICE, HE WENT TO THE HOSPITAL LAST WEEK AFTER EXPERIENCING INCREASED URINARY SYMPTOMS. THAT’S WHEN DOCTORS FOUND A PROSTATE NODULE. AND ON FRIDAY, THE 82 YEAR OLD WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PROSTATE CANCER. HIS CANCER IS CHARACTERIZED BY A GLEASON SCORE OF NINE, WHICH SUGGESTS HIS CANCER IS AMONG THE MOST AGGRESSIVE. BUT LOCAL DOCTORS SAY PROSTATE CANCER IS HIGHLY TREATABLE, AND THIS DIAGNOSIS ISN’T NECESSARILY A DEATH SENTENCE. PEOPLE LIVE WITH PROSTATE CANCER FOR YEARS AND SOMETIMES EVEN DECADES, EVEN AFTER IT’S SPREAD OUTSIDE OF THE PROSTATE. IT DEPENDS ON THE CANCER, AND IT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON. AND I KNOW THAT HE HAS BEEN IN GENERALLY GOOD HEALTH OTHERWISE AND HAS BEEN CERTAINLY ATTENDED TO VERY, VERY CLOSELY IN TERMS OF HIS HEART HEALTH AND AND ALL OF THE REST OF IT. SO MY HOPE IS THAT HE CAN BE TREATED AND CONTINUE TO LIVE AS NORMAL A LIFE AS AS HE DOES RIGHT NOW. WE LAST SAW THE FORMER PRESIDENT AND THE FORMER FIRST LADY ON THE VIEW TEN DAYS AGO, BUT THE FORMER PRESIDENT HAS KEPT A RELATIVELY LOW PROFILE SINCE LEAVING OFFICE. BIDEN UNDERWENT A PHYSICAL AT WALTER REED NATIONAL MILITARY CENTER IN FEBRUARY OF 2024, DOCTORS THERE SAID AT THE TIME THERE WERE NO NEW CONCERNS WITH THE PRESIDENT’S HEALTH. WHILE THIS CANCER DIAGNOSIS REPRESENTS A MORE AGGRESSIVE FORM OF THE DISEASE, BIDEN’S OFFICE SAYS THE CANCER APPEARS TO BE HORMONE SENSITIVE, WHICH ALLOWS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT. JUST MINUTES AGO, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP POSTED THIS ON TRUTH SOCIAL, SAYING, QUOTE, MELANIA AND I ARE SADDENED TO HEAR ABOUT JOE BIDEN’S RECENT MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. WE EXTEND OUR WARMEST AND BEST WISHES TO JILL AND THE FAMILY, AND WE WISH JOE A FAST AND SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY. FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN AND HIS FAMILY ARE REVIEWING TREATMENT OPTIONS WITH HIS PHYSICIANS. WE’RE LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM, DANAE BUCCI WCVB NEWSCENTER FIVE. DANNY. THANK YOU. PROSTATE CANCER REMAINS THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF CANCER DEATH AMONG MEN IN THE U.S. MORE THAN 35,000 PEOPLE DIE EACH YEAR. RESEARCHERS SAY WHILE TREATABLE, LATE STAGE DIAGNOSES HAVE INCREASED. THAT INCLUDES BETWEEN 2011 AND 2019, WHERE ADVANCED STAGE DIAGNOSES ROSE 4.5
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Updated: 9:15 PM CDT May 18, 2025
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Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer
AP logo
Updated: 9:15 PM CDT May 18, 2025
Editorial Standards
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday.Biden was seen by doctors last week after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management," his office said. "The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what’s known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease.However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.Outcomes have improved in recent decades and patients can expect to live with metastatic prostate cancer for four or five years, said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center.“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Smith said. “Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy.”Many political leaders sent Biden their wishes for his recovery.Video below: Joe Biden reacts to election of Pope Leo XIVPresident Donald Trump, a longtime political opponent, posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and “we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, said on social media that she was keeping him in her family's “hearts and prayers during this time.”“Joe is a fighter — and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” Harris wrote.Former President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Biden, his former vice president, lauding his toughness. “Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace,” Obama wrote on social media.The health of Biden, 82, was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a calamitous debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Harris became the nominee and lost to Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in the new book “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his decline while serving as president.In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration's priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015.His father, when announcing the goal to halve the cancer death rate, said this could be an “American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things.” Associated Press writer Jon Fahey in New York contributed to this report.

Former President has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday.

Biden was seen by doctors last week after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.

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“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management," his office said. "The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what’s known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease.

However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.

Outcomes have improved in recent decades and patients can expect to live with metastatic prostate cancer for four or five years, said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center.

“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Smith said. “Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy.”

Many political leaders sent Biden their wishes for his recovery.

Video below: Joe Biden reacts to election of Pope Leo XIV

President , a longtime political opponent, posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and “we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, said on social media that she was keeping him in her family's “hearts and prayers during this time.”

“Joe is a fighter — and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” Harris wrote.

Former President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Biden, his former vice president, lauding his toughness. “Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace,” Obama wrote on social media.

The health of Biden, 82, was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Harris became the nominee and lost to Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in the new book “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his decline while serving as president.

In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.

In 2022, Biden made a one of his administration's priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau, who in 2015.

His father, when announcing the goal to halve the cancer death rate, said this could be an “American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things.”

Associated Press writer Jon Fahey in New York contributed to this report.